Flatanger is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. It is part of the

Namdalen Namdalen ( sma, Nååmesjevuemie) is a traditional district in the central part of Norway, consisting of the municipalities Namsos, Grong, Overhalla, Røyrvik, Nærøysund, Høylandet, Flatanger, Lierne, Leka, and Namsskogan, all in Tr ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of the municipality is the village of

Lauvsnes Lauvsnes is the administrative centre of the municipality of Flatanger in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the shore, about northeast of the village of Vik. Lauvsnes has some small industry as well as fish farming. Th ...

. Other villages include Jøssund,

Hasvåg Hasvåg is a seaside village in the municipality of Flatanger Flatanger is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lauvsnes. Other villages ...

, and

Vik Vik (Old Norse: vík) means wick or bay in Norwegian and Swedish (''vig'' in Danish), and it may refer to the following: Places Iceland * Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran * Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway ...

. The municipality is the 217th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Flatanger is the 326th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 1,101. The municipality's

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is and its population has decreased by 3.5% over the previous 10-year period. Flatanger is also known for having some of the most difficult

sport climbing Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors t ...

routes in the world.

General information

Flatanger was established as a municipality in the old

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

county on 1 January 1871 when it was separated from the large municipality of

Fosnes Fosnes is a former municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Namsos Municipality. It was part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the mun ...

. Initially, Flatanger had 1,472 residents. It is one of the few municipalities in Norway whose boundaries have not changed since it was established. In 2018, it became part of the new

county.

Name

The municipality is named after the old name for one of the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

s in the area, but it is not known which one. The name is composed of two parts: ''flat'', which probably means "shallow water", and ''angr'', which means "

or inlet".

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was granted on 12 October 1990. The arms show three silver or white chevrons on a green background. The design was chosen to represent the bow of a boat, seen from the front, since boats have a great historical significance in this coastal fishing community.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church ...

has one parish () within the municipality of Flatanger. It is part of the Namdal prosti (

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

) in the

Diocese of Nidaros Nidaros is a diocese in the Lutheran Church of Norway. It covers Trøndelag county in Central Norway and its cathedral city is Trondheim, which houses the well-known Nidaros Cathedral. Since 10 September 2017, the Bishop of Nidaros is Herborg ...

Geography

The municipality consists mostly of mainland, but also includes almost 1,400 islands of various sizes. Some of the major islands include

Bjørøya Bjørøya is an island in the Folda sea, just south of the Namsenfjorden in the municipality of Flatanger in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island lies about east of the island of Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ...

, Lauvøya,

Villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became ...

, Halmøya, and Kvernøya. Ellingråsa Lighthouse is located on the island of

and Villa Lighthouse is on

. These islands all lie on the south side of the

Folda Folda may refer to: Places * Folda, Angus, a hamlet in Angus, Scotland * Folda, Nordland, a fjord in Nordland county, Norway * Folda (Rindal), a river in Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag counties in Norway * Folda, Trøndelag, a firth and fjord in ...

firth Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to ''f ...

. The Namsenfjorden forms part of the northern boundary of the municipality.

Government

All municipalities in Norway, including Flatanger, are responsible for

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

senior citizen Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refe ...

and other

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

zoning Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, and municipal

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types o ...

s. The municipality is governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of elected representatives, which in turn elect a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The municipality falls under the Trøndelag District Court and the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Municipal council

The

() of Flatanger is made up of 15 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

breakdown of the council is as follows:

Politics

In the 2007 municipal elections, Flatanger had the highest vote for the Venstre party in all of Norway, at 42.9 per cent.

Rock climbing

Flatanger is home to some of the world's hardest sport climbs, particularly in Hanshelleren Cave near town. ''Change'', given the grade 9b+/5.15c+, was first redpointed by

Adam Ondra Adam Ondra (born February 5, 1993) is a Czech professional rock climber, specializing in lead climbing and bouldering. In 2013, ''Rock & Ice'' described Ondra as a prodigy and the leading climber of his generation. Ondra is the only male athlete t ...

on 4 October 2012. Ondra also redpointed the first 9c climbing route in the world in Flatanger on 3 September 2017. The route was originally named ''Project Hard'' by Ondra because of its many difficulties, but after completion—when it was no longer a project—he renamed it ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the c ...

''.

Adam Ondra climbing Silence, 9c by PAVEL BLAZEK 1-cropped

Notable residents

Ole Konrad Ribsskog Ole Konrad Ribsskog (8 December 1865 – 26 January 1941) was a Norwegian educator and politician for the Labour and the Social Democratic Labour parties. He was born in Flatanger as a son of farmers Johannes Olsen Ribsskog (1838–1910) ...

(1865 in Flatanger – 1941) a Norwegian teacher and politician, Mayor of Trondhjem *

Toralf Sandø Toralf Sandø (April 6, 1899 in Flatanger – March 4, 1970) was a Norwegian film director and actor. He also read Olav Duun Olav Duun (21 November 1876 – 13 September 1939) was a noteworthy author of Norwegian fiction. He is generall ...

(1899 in Flatanger – 1970) a Norwegian film director and actor IMDb Database
retrieved 08 October 2020 * Julie Dahle Aagård (born 1978 in Flatanger) a Norwegian Jazz singer * Brede Moe (born 1991 in Flatanger) a Norwegian footballer with 180 club caps

References

External links

* *
Municipal fact sheet
from

Statistics Norway Statistics Norway ( no, Statistisk sentralbyrå, abbreviated to ''SSB'') is the Norwegian statistics bureau. It was established in 1876. Relying on a staff of about 1,000, Statistics Norway publish about 1,000 new statistical releases every ye ...

{{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Municipalities of Trøndelag 1871 establishments in Norway